After dinner.
The aroma of braised Soul Beast meat still lingered in the City Lord Mansion's dining room.
Liu Ruyan was tidying up the bowls and chopsticks with the maids, muttering, "Why did that child eat so quickly today? Usually, I have to nag him three times."
Xiao Chengkun cradled his teacup, contentedly picking his teeth and crossing one leg over the other. He hummed an unknown little tune, at least three notes off-key.
Xiao Chenyu put down his chopsticks and quietly leaned close to Xiao Chengkun's ear. In a low voice, he said, "Dad, come with me for a moment."
Xiao Chengkun's hand paused slightly as he picked his teeth. He knew that look on his son's face all too well.
The last time the boy had worn that expression, he'd been about to leave on a long trip.
What was it this time?
"What is it now?"
Xiao Chengkun set down his teacup and followed his son through a series of twists and turns into the study.
Xiao Chenyu walked ahead of him, his steps light but purposeful.
Once they entered the study, he made a point of glancing outside before shutting the door tight.
"Chenyu, why are you acting so mysterious? What are you up to?"
Amused by his son's guilty, thief-like behavior, Xiao Chengkun couldn't resist teasing him.
"Don't tell me you've gone and stolen some girl's heart?"
"Actually, your mother was right. That girl from the Li Family really is quite nice—"
"Dad, this is serious."
Xiao Chenyu cut him off and pulled a small jade bottle from his clothes.
The instant he pulled out the stopper, a vast and suffocating Bloodline Power surged through the entire study like a flood bursting through a breached dam.
Faint golden patterns even seemed to emerge in the air.
It was the natural pressure emanating from the God Blood Bead.
"!"
Xiao Chengkun's smile froze on his face.
He was a Soul King. In a remote little city like Nuoding City, that cultivation was enough to make him a figure of some importance.
But now, faced with the aura emanating from the jade bottle, the Soul Power within him trembled of its own accord.
A primal reverence stirred deep within his Martial Soul.
It was like the instinctive submission etched into the bones of a low-level Soul Beast when facing a higher-level one.
"This is..."
Xiao Chengkun's voice changed pitch, and he nearly dropped his teacup.
"Titan God Blood Bead. It's a treasure."
Xiao Chenyu remained calm as he poured a bead from the jade bottle, held it in his palm, and offered it to his father.
The bead was round and lustrous as a pearl, its surface gleaming with a flowing, dark golden light.
Even as it lay motionless in his palm, the Bloodline Power it radiated made the surrounding air ripple slightly.
Looking closely, one could just make out a liquid flowing inside it, like a drop of molten lava frozen in time.
There had been three God Blood Beads. Xiao Chenyu had already eaten one himself.
As for the effect, unfortunately, it hadn't activated the Titan bloodline.
But the boost to his physical constitution had been far greater than that of the Ten Thousand Year Whale Glue.
His physique might already rival that of a Beast Martial Soul Soul Ancestor.
Unfortunately, this thing was like a limited-use item: it only worked once per person. Eating more would be a complete waste.
Of the two remaining beads, he'd kept one for himself as a spare.
Naturally, the other was for his father.
"Dad, eat it."
"Gulp."
Xiao Chengkun stared at the blood bead and swallowed hard.
He had no idea where it had come from.
But he was a Soul King, after all. He still had the basic judgment to recognize that it was no ordinary thing.
Just its aura alone was enough to make his Martial Soul tremble. This thing was definitely extraordinary.
There was no way to get something like this in a place like Nuoding City.
"Chenyu, where did you get this?"
"Don't ask. Heroes aren't judged by where they came from, and treasures aren't judged by where they were found. Get it?"
Xiao Chenyu pressed the blood bead directly into Xiao Chengkun's hand.
"Don't worry. It wasn't stolen or robbed. A friend gave it to me."
"Just eat it. You'll see what it does afterward."
"..."
Xiao Chengkun looked at the bead in his hand, then at his son's frank gaze.
He fell silent for a moment.
Then Xiao Chengkun tilted his head back and swallowed the blood bead.
The next second—
"Ugh—!"
Xiao Chengkun's eyes flew open, and the muscles all over his body abruptly swelled.
Veins bulged beneath his skin, as if something were churning inside him.
He grabbed the corner of the table for support, but it couldn't withstand the force. With a crack, it broke in half.
"Boom!"
A wave of black energy exploded from his body, flipping over every table and chair in the study.
"Smash!"
The teacup hit the floor and shattered into pieces. The paintings on the wall flapped wildly in the blast.
Xiao Chenyu had been prepared and had already stepped back three paces, but even so, the blast made him squint.
Xiao Chengkun's Soul Power surged out of control—level fifty-six, fifty-seven, fifty-eight, fifty-nine!
Four levels at once!
That surging Soul Power was like a wild horse with its reins cut, charging around the study and making even the windows rattle.
But that wasn't the most shocking part.
Behind Xiao Chengkun, a phantom Martial Soul appeared of its own accord.
It was a gray wolf.
It had originally been an ordinary wolf Martial Soul.
In a small place like Nuoding City, it was barely decent.
Across the Douluo Continent as a whole, it was the sort of Martial Soul nobody would even notice.
But now, the gray wolf was visibly undergoing a mutation.
Its body swelled, growing from the size of an ordinary wolf to that of a small elephant.
Its fur shifted from gray-white to dark gold, every strand gleaming with a metallic sheen.
Its fangs lengthened, its claws curved like hooks, and dark golden light shone in its eyes.
Most importantly, the pressure of an ancient Titan bloodline burst from the wolf Martial Soul.
It was the bloodline pressure unique to the Titan race, heavy as a mountain and domineering as thunder.
The instant the mutation was complete, the dark golden giant wolf threw back its head and howled.
"Awooooo!!!"
Its howl was domineering and majestic.
This was no longer an ordinary wolf Martial Soul.
It was a brand-new Mutated Martial Soul, awakened to the Titan bloodline—the Titan Giant Wolf!
Xiao Chenyu's eyes widened.
He looked at the imposing phantom of the dark golden giant wolf, then at his father, and his mouth twitched.
"Holy crap! It activated the Titan bloodline?!"
When he'd eaten a God Blood Bead himself, only his physical constitution had improved. His bloodline hadn't budged an inch.
But when his father ate one, his wolf Martial Soul had mutated straight into a Titan Giant Wolf, and his Soul Power had jumped four levels. What kind of luck was that?
Could it be that the Titan bloodline was especially compatible with middle-aged men?
Or was his father's Martial Soul simply better suited to fusing with Titan power than his own?
A moment later.
The blast gradually subsided.
The study was a complete mess, as if a real wolf had charged in and turned everything upside down.
But Xiao Chengkun couldn't care less.
He stood motionless, staring down at his hands.
He could feel the Soul Power surging inside him and the new Martial Soul.
He looked as if he'd been struck by lightning.
"This... I..."
His voice was hoarse, and disbelief filled his eyes.
"My Martial Soul... mutated? My Soul Power... is level fifty-nine?"
He'd gone from level fifty-five to fifty-nine, jumping four levels at once.
If word got out, it would leave every Soul Master in Nuoding City dumbfounded.
He turned to Xiao Chenyu, his eyes full of shock.
His lips trembled several times before he managed to squeeze out a complete sentence. "Chenyu, what exactly was that thing you gave Dad?"
"My Martial Soul mutated, my physique improved across the board, and my Soul Power jumped four levels... That's a divine medicine, isn't it? Where did you get it? Who exactly is your friend?"
Xiao Chenyu smiled.
He pulled out the jade bottle, waved it in front of his father, then put it away again.
"Dad, don't ask."
"Just think of it as a gift from your dutiful son."
"If a friend gives you something, you ought to make good use of it. It won't earn interest sitting in a bottle."
Xiao Chengkun looked at his son with mixed feelings.
The boy was only ten, yet he was speaking and acting more and more like an adult.
He'd been gone for just a few days, and now he was back with a bunch of secrets.
He'd even brought out a divine medicine that could mutate someone's bloodline.
But he knew better than to press him.
If his son didn't want to say, he wouldn't ask.
"You little rascal. Now you're keeping things from your father."
Xiao Chengkun gave Xiao Chenyu a solid pat on the shoulder, putting more force into it than usual.
Perhaps he still hadn't gotten the hang of his strength after breaking through, because Xiao Chenyu's shoulder sank under the blow.
But he didn't dodge. He just grinned.
His physical constitution was no joke now, either.
"Fine, I won't ask."
"But if there's anything you need my help with, just say the word."
Xiao Chengkun thumped his chest, his tone as bold as if he'd just downed two jin of liquor.
"With a Titan Giant Wolf Martial Soul and level-fifty-nine Soul King cultivation, your father can swagger all over Nuoding City now!"
That was exactly what Xiao Chenyu had been waiting to hear.
"There is, actually."
He pulled another thin booklet from his clothes and handed it over.
It was a handwritten copy of the Mysterious Heaven Skill from the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record.
He'd copied every word of the inner cultivation method, the cultivation routes, and the meridian diagrams without changing a thing.
Of course, he hadn't copied the Hundred Explanations of Hidden Weapons or the poison techniques yet.
His father was too straightforward to handle all that twisting and turning.
"What's this?"
Xiao Chengkun took the booklet and flipped through it.
Inside, he found page after page of densely written cultivation routes and notes on the meridians.
"Dad, this is even more precious than the blood bead you just ate."
Xiao Chenyu's expression grew solemn. The joking look he'd worn earlier was gone.
"Once you've learned what's in here, burn it immediately. Don't leave behind a single word."
"Don't reveal it to anyone—not even Mom."
"It's not that I don't trust her. She's an ordinary person, and the less she knows, the safer she'll be."
Xiao Chengkun's fingers tightened slightly, his rough fingertips rubbing the booklet's cover.
He looked up at his son's serious expression, then slowly tucked the booklet away close to his body, deeper than his money pouch.
"Dad understands."
He didn't waste words. He simply nodded.
But Xiao Chenyu could feel the weight behind that nod.
The atmosphere grew a little heavy for a moment.
Then Xiao Chenyu suddenly rubbed his hands together, wearing a slightly sheepish smile.
He looked like a child about to ask his parents for pocket money.
"Dad, you just said I should ask if there was anything you could help with, right?"
"?"
Looking at his son's expression, Xiao Chengkun suddenly had a bad feeling.
What was it this time?
He wasn't planning to go to the Star Dou Great Forest, was he?
"You're not thinking of going somewhere dangerous again, are you?" Xiao Chengkun stared at his son warily.
"No, no, not this time. Really."
Xiao Chenyu hurriedly waved his hands, then cleared his throat and said it in as casual a tone as he could manage.
"Dad, let's buy Notting Junior Spirit Master Academy."
"..."
The study fell silent for a full three seconds.
Xiao Chengkun's mouth fell open.
"Huh?"